Hiding In America
by LuckyFreak
Summary: Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sent to Sunnydale to hide from Voldemort after they graduate from Hogwarts, there they meet up with the Scooby Gang, and things start to happen.
1. From Hogwarts to Sunnydale

Hiding In America

Chapter 1

From Hogwarts to Sunnydale

Disclaimer:  I don't own anything; I just like to look at the pretty pictures.

Author's Note:  I love reviews; if you want lots of updates, review lots, because it inspires me to write more.

Author's Note2:  Make note of the fact that Hermione and Harry have been dating since their fifth year.  This was the source of some confusion earlier.

Fiction Here:

There were two weeks until graduation.  The castle was full of people scurrying around, trying to get this, and that done before then.  Harry, Ron and Hermione had gone down to the Great Hall for breakfast, and were found by Professor McGonagall.  "Potter, Weasley, Granger.  Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you in his office right after you finish your breakfasts.  The Password is Acid Pop, Potter."  With that, she turned to head back towards the staff table, her robes swishing around her legs.

"Professor?"   Harry called towards her retreating figure.  "Did Professor Dumbledore say what it was he wanted?"  He asked as she turned back to face him, Harry could see tears forming in her eyes.

"That's not for me to say Mr. Potter.  Go see him right after breakfast."  She turned again, and hurriedly strode away.

The three of them found seats at the Gryffindor table.  They didn't speak as they shoveled scrambled eggs, toast, sausages, and potatoes on their plates. They didn't say anything, Harry just poked at his food.

They continued eating, and trying to guess what it was the Headmaster wanted to discuss with them.  When they finished eating, they all hurried out of the Great Hall, and headed down the corridors towards the Gargoyle that disguised the entrance to Dumbledore's study.  Harry said the password, and the Gargoyle jumped aside, allowing them to climb the stairs.  When they reached the top of the stairs, they knocked on the door, and when Harry heard a 'come in', he opened the door, and they all hurried inside.  They were greeted by the sight of Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix, and an aged man with a long white beard, and pointed nose, sitting behind the gargantuan desk.   "Come in all of you."  When they had entered the office, he gestured for them to sit across from him.  Unfortunately, there were only two chairs, so Hermione sat down on Harry's lap. "As you all know, the war against Voldemort isn't going as well as we had been hoping. We believe that he will make a play for Harry's life at Graduation.  For his, and your safety, the Order of the Phoenix has decided for you three to go into hiding."  Dumbledore explained.  It was obvious that the toll of war had drained him.  His eyes no longer held the sparkle they once had.  His smile lines were less pronounced, and he no longer wore his different colored robes, but plain black ones.  The tone in his voice was one of despair and dashed hope.

"But, why send all of us away?"  Ron asked incredulously.

"Because, with Harry in danger, you are all in danger.  Voldemort isn't above capturing and torturing friends and relatives of the person he is after.  He is out for Harry's blood, and once you graduate from Hogwarts, you are open targets.  So, we have decided to send you all to a Muggle university in Sunnydale, California."  Dumbledore finished explaining where they'd be going.

"California?  In America?"  Ron exclaimed, quite outraged.  

"Oh get off it Ron, it won't be that bad."  Hermione chastised her friend.

"But a Muggle school, and in America?"  Ron was still sputtering.

"Do shut up Ron!"  Harry shouted at the sputtering red head.

Hermione's eyes shot wide open, and her mouth dropped open with a clunk.  She had never heard her boyfriend speak like that to Ron before.  Harry saw her shocked expression, and instantly, a wave of guilt washed over him.  He had obviously scared her, and he had promised himself that he would never scare her.  "I'm sorry baby."  He whispered in her ear, before giving her neck a light kiss.  "Sorry Ron, but it could be worse, we could be killed by Voldemort, or we could have to live with the Dursleys."

Ron seemed to deflate a bit, he would rather end up in Muggle America than be killed by Voldemort, or live with Harry's horrible relatives.

"So why Sunnydale?"  Harry asked Dumbledore.   "I mean, there have to be a number of Muggle universities in America, why pick Sunnydale?"

Dumbledore smiled, but it looked strained.  "I have a Muggle friend, a Rupert Giles who owns a Magic Shop there.  He's the watcher for the current slayer, and has quite a circle of people who you would get along with well.  If an emergency were to happen, you could ask him and his friends for help."  Dumbledore explained.  "Also, since I am graduating you from Hogwarts now, you'll be able to use magic as you see fit."

They sat there, and formed a unanimous decision.  "When do we go?"  Harry asked.

"As soon as you get to Hogsmede to Apparate.  I've taken the Liberty of shrinking your trunks and familiar carrying cases.  He handed over three small Hogwarts trunks, two owl cages, and a cat carrier.  They all gathered theirs, and placed them in the pockets of their robes.  "Here is the information about your flat, school, Rupert Giles, and anything else I can think of you'll need."  He handed a large parchment envelope over to Hermione who pocketed it quickly.  "Now off with you, and May God go with you."  Dumbledore said as he sent them out.  

They hurried through the castle, not stopping to see anyone, once they were in Hogsmede, they all Apparated to a section of woods out side Sunnydale.  Hermione opened the envelope.  "The flat he got us is at 1973 Chelmsford Drive, number 12.  He says Gringotts is near the Magic shop."  Harry saw that she was shaking as she read the letter; he pulled her into a comforting hug.

"Hey, everything's going to be alright."  He knew she was scared, he didn't blame her.  She had left her Muggle parents in England without even telling them where she was going.  They were defenseless against Voldemort.  She was scared as much for them as she was for herself.  Harry had gotten off easy, he didn't have family he minded leaving for Voldemort.  The Dursleys had abused him as long as he had lived there.  The people who were dear to him, were able to protect themselves.

Hermione relaxed as soon as she felt Harry take her in his arms.  This was the one place she knew that nothing bad could happen to her.  "Thanks Harry."  She replied, extracting herself from his arms.  She did a locating spell for their flat, since they hadn't a clue as to where to begin looking.  A little green ball of light appeared, and started moving down the street.  They followed it to their apartment complex where the spell dissipated.  Ron led the way up the stairs to number 12.  Since the envelope hadn't included the key, Hermione pulled out her wand and whispered, "Alohomora."  The door swung open, to reveal a sparsely furnished apartment.  There was a large battered wooden table with three folding chairs drawn up beside it.  There was a small alcove with the kitchen inside.  An old, dusty out of style couch sat in the corner of the living room.  There were three doors that led off to two bedrooms, and the bathroom.

"Ron and I will take this room."  Harry said, gesturing to the far room.  "You can have the other."  The room that Harry had indicated for Hermione was small, with a small crate next to a mattress, which was on the floor.

Harry and Ron both knew that given enough time, they could have their rooms showing their personalities, not what they were given.

They all set to work, transfiguring their rooms to their liking.  A few hours later, Hermione came to look at Harry and Ron's room.  They had transfigured their mattresses into futons with purple and blue sheets and comforters respectively.  There were Quidditch posters all over the walls, the players zooming in and out of the pictures.   Their crates were now sturdy wooden bedside tables.  Their school trunks had been expanded and opened, there were a few spell books on each of their end tables, Harry's end table also had _Flying With The Cannons_ and _Quidditch Through the Ages_.  Both had expanded their owl cages, and opened their window to let Hedwig and Pigwidgeon out to fly.  Harry had formed a rack on the wall where he and Ron had hung their brooms, while Ron had made a row of pegs where they hung their cloaks, Harry's silvery invisibility cloak making a stark contrast to their other black school cloaks.  They had pulled their cauldrons out, and filled them with parchment, quills, and ink.  The overall effect of their room was very pleasing. "I like it."  Hermione said, "It's very you."

"Why thank you Hermione."  Ron replied, bowing low jokingly.  "Why don't we see what you have done to your room."

They all trooped into Hermione's room to view her handiwork.  She too had transfigured her mattress into a futon, but she had light blue sheets and comforter.  Her crate had been transfigured into a bookshelf, on which she had placed all her schoolbooks, and extra resource materials.  She had cast a color charm on her walls, washing them with a deep blue.  Her school trunk was also expanded as well, and Crookshanks was lounging on the windowsill.  All in all, it was very Hermione.

"It looks great 'Mione."  Harry said, pulling her into a hug.  "Now, lets see what we can do with the living room."

The three of them took a look at their living room.  Compared to the rooms they had already personalized, it was a dump.  "Well, lets' get started." Harry said, rolling up his sleeves, and pulling out his wand.  The others followed in  suit.  Harry transfigured the couch into a newer, better, black leather couch with the Gryffindor lion on it.  Hermione conjured up a lamp and coffee table while Ron cast a color charm on the walls, changing the peeling off white pain to a rich dark red.  When they all finished, their entire flat looked, and felt completely magical, and it fit their personalities well.

After stepping back and admiring their creation, they all flopped on the couch.  The Gryffindor lion growled audibly when Ron leaned back on it.  Ron leapt up, startled.  They had become increasingly aware of the strange side affects that sometimes accompanied Harry's magic now he knew he was descended from Godric Gryffindor.  "Sorry Ron."  Harry chuckled as Hermione leaned into his arms, laying her head on his chest.

They all just sat there, replenishing their spent energies before Hermione spoke up.  "We need to get Muggle money from Gringotts, and get some food.  Dumbledore's letter also says we should check in with his friend at the magic shop."

"Alright 'Mione."  Harry said, standing up.  They all went and changed into Muggle clothes before they went in search of Gringotts and the magic shop owned by a Rupert Giles.  They did their business with the bank, and went next door into the magic shop.  They pushed the door open, and walked into the muggle magic shop.

"Oh, customers! What can I help you with today?"  A tall, leggy blond asked of them.

"We're looking for Rupert  Giles."  Harry said, wondering if he could get some potion supplies here.

"Oh, hang on a minute.  Giles!  Somebody's here to see you!"  She called to the back.  "He'll be here in a minute."  She returned behind the counter.

A door opened and a tall, middle-aged man wearing khakis, a sweater, and a pair of glasses emerged.  "Oh, hello?"  The man (Giles?) asked.

"Ah, Professor Dumbledore sent us."  Hermione said to the older man.

"Oh, you must be Hermione, Harry, and Ron." He said pointing to the two boys in turn.  "Yes, Albus said you'd be coming, but he didn't mention when."  Giles gestured for them to sit at the table with him.  "Would you like some tea?"  He asked politely.

"Oh thank you."  Harry and Ron said as Hermione pulled out her wand and conjured up a tea tray.  Giles' eyes bulged and he looked around to see if anyone else had witnessed this feet of magic.

"Would you mind not doing that in the store?"  He hissed worriedly.  "It'd be a lot of explaining if the wrong person saw you do that."

The Hogwarts' trio agreed, and they began to chat and have tea.  "We'll be able to talk more freely if you were to return after closing."  Giles said at length.  "My Slayer and her friends would all be here then."

"Alright, we need to go and register with the school any ways."  Ron replied, standing up and pulling Harry to his feet.  Ron clearly wasn't comfortable being around muggles a lot.  This was understandable since he had grown up in an entirely wizarding family.  They left the store after promising to return after closing.  They hurried to UC Sunnydale where they signed up for classes. On the way back to their flat, they stopped at the grocery store and bought some essential food supplies.  Once back in the safety of their magical flat, they shared their class schedules.  Ron was taking Early American Authors, Algebra, British Mythology, Chemistry Lab, and Greek.  Hermione was taking Calculus, British Literature, Latin, Physics, Chemistry lab, and Psychology.  Harry was taking American Authors, Algebra, Associative Logic, Latin, Chemistry Lab, and Chinese History.  

Hermione made Harry and Ron promise not to do magic unless they were in their flat, or away from prying Muggle eyes to reduce the number of memory charms they would eventually have to do.  Due to the time change from England to California, even though it was two  in the afternoon, it felt like it was the middle of the night, so they all agreed to sleep until it was time to go to meet Giles again at the shop.  'California was turning out to be alright after all,' was the thought going through their minds as they fell asleep on their beds.


	2. Author's Note: Not a chapter

Author's Note:  I'm glad for all the responses I've gotten for my stories.  Most everyone here likes my work, ( with the exception of a few.) I will work harder to try to drill out better and better chapters, but  it's going to take me a while, because finals are in two weeks, and I have to study, so I won't have bunches of time to write.  So, hang in there, and I'll get the next chapters posted as soon as I can. 

Thank you all for reading and reviewing.

LuckyFreak


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